Wolfmother - The Mind's Eye/Woman

I’m not entirely sure I could listen to Wolfmother’s release, The Mind’s Eye, without thinking of Led Zeppelin and, in particular, the voice of Robert Plant. Lead singer Andrew Stockdale is a revelation, with a voice so powerful that he takes you with him on his flight to the moon. You cannot help but accompany him as he soars to the heavens with this fine offering to the ‘70s rock gods of yore.

The Mind’s Eye contains echoes of Black Sabbath (circa Technical Ecstasy), hints of the more rollicking, later works by The Doors, with a taste of The Grateful Dead. Woman is pure Zeppelin and, although the band are likely sick to death of this comparison, this can only be said with the greatest respect for Wolfmother. They breathe new life into this genre; if done by a lesser band, this could have resulted in little more than a weak parody.

Sydney’s Wolfmother, consisting of three curly-haired high priests of rock – Andrew on vocals and guitar, Chris Ross on keyboard and bass, and Myles Heskett on drums – is a gale force wind ready to rip your clothes off and leave you dancing naked in the rain. Their sound evokes memories of a time of peace and love, when music was your breathless friend on the journey to your inner being, where Timothy Leary was lurking to turn you on.

The mix of this EP is rocking and shows further prowess by the band who recorded it themselves (with some tweaking by Jim Diamond, who mastered their demo into the deafening sound you hear today). Wolfmother is finding new fans in the United Kingdom and the United States through their performances at festivals and have rightly received positive critique from numerous music magazines. Buy this EP and let their music unveil your mind’s eye. You might be surprised what’s hiding inside.

This review was written for Faster Louder.